Retro Pizza History

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Date:

Instructions: From neighborhood pizzerias to frozen pies, test your knowledge of how pizza became America's favorite food!

1.
Which New York City pizzeria, opened in 1905, is widely considered the first pizzeria in the United States?
A
Di Fara Pizza
B
Totonno's
C
Lombardi's
D
John's of Bleecker Street
2.
Which pizza chain, known for its red roof and sit-down dining, was the first to achieve national distribution?
A
Little Caesars
B
Pizza Hut
C
Domino's
D
Papa John's
3.
What event is credited with popularizing pizza among American GIs during World War II?
A
Soldiers discovering pizza while stationed in Italy
B
Red Cross serving pizza at canteens
C
Italian prisoners of war cooking for troops
D
Pizza parlors on military bases
4.
What pizza topping combination was the most popular in American pizza shops throughout the 1960s and 1970s?
A
Plain cheese
B
Hawaiian (ham and pineapple)
C
Pepperoni
D
Sausage and mushroom
5.
Which frozen pizza brand, one of the first widely available frozen pizzas, was created by Rose Totino in Minneapolis?
A
Tombstone
B
Totino's
C
Red Baron
D
Jeno's
6.
What type of pizza, featuring a thick buttery crust and deep dish, originated in Chicago in 1943?
A
Sicilian style
B
New York style
C
Detroit style
D
Chicago deep-dish
7.
What pizza delivery chain famously promised '30 minutes or it's free' in its advertising?
A
Papa John's
B
Pizza Hut
C
Little Caesars
D
Domino's
8.
What was the popular pizza-making toy that allowed kids to create miniature pizzas with a light-bulb-powered oven?
A
Pizza Party Maker
B
Pizza Factory
C
My Little Pizza Oven
D
Easy-Bake Pizza
9.
What Little Caesars promotion, launched in 1979, offered two pizzas for the price of one?
A
Buy One Get One
B
Double Deal
C
Two for Tuesday
D
Pizza! Pizza!
10.
What was the name of the animatronic entertainment show at Chuck E. Cheese's pizza restaurants?
A
Rock-afire Explosion
B
Munch's Make Believe Band
C
Pizza Time Players
D
The Pizza Band
11.
What canned pizza product allowed families to make homemade pizza using a kit from Chef Boyardee?
A
Home Pizza Maker
B
Quick Pizza Mix
C
Pizza in a Box
D
Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit
12.
What type of oven was traditional New York-style pizza cooked in at neighborhood pizzerias?
A
Wood-fired oven only
B
Microwave
C
Conveyor oven
D
Coal-fired or gas deck oven
13.
What Italian-American snack, popular in the 1960s, was a pizza-like roll filled with pepperoni and cheese?
A
Pizza roll
B
Calzone
C
Hot Pocket
D
Stromboli
14.
What Pizza Hut menu innovation, introduced in 1980, featured a pizza with cheese stuffed inside the crust?
A
Stuffed Crust Pizza
B
Pan Pizza
C
BigFoot Pizza
D
Priazzo
15.
What was the typical cost of a slice of pizza at a New York City pizzeria in the 1960s?
A
75 cents
B
50 cents
C
5 cents
D
15 cents

Answer Key

Question 1

C. Lombardi's

Lombardi's, located at 53½ Spring Street in Manhattan, is widely recognized as the first pizzeria in America. Gennaro Lombardi opened it in 1905.

Question 2

B. Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut, founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney, was the first pizza chain to achieve national distribution and became the largest pizza chain in America.

Question 3

A. Soldiers discovering pizza while stationed in Italy

American soldiers stationed in Italy during WWII discovered and fell in love with pizza. When they returned home, they created a massive demand for pizza across the country.

Question 4

C. Pepperoni

Pepperoni has been the most popular pizza topping in America since the 1960s. It's an American invention, not traditionally Italian, created by Italian-American pizzamakers.

Question 5

B. Totino's

Rose Totino created her frozen pizza brand in the 1960s. Her crispy party-sized frozen pizzas became a grocery store staple and are still popular today.

Question 6

D. Chicago deep-dish

Chicago deep-dish pizza was created at Pizzeria Uno by Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo in 1943. Its thick crust, inverted layers, and chunky tomato sauce made it distinctive.

Question 7

D. Domino's

Domino's used the '30 minutes or it's free' guarantee from 1973 to 1993. It helped build the brand but was discontinued due to safety concerns about speeding drivers.

Question 8

A. Pizza Party Maker

Various pizza-making toys were popular in the 1970s and 1980s. The Easy-Bake Oven also offered pizza mix sets for children who wanted to make their own miniature pies.

Question 9

D. Pizza! Pizza!

Little Caesars' 'Pizza! Pizza!' promotion started in 1979, offering two pizzas for the price of one. The phrase became one of the most recognizable fast food slogans.

Question 10

B. Munch's Make Believe Band

Chuck E. Cheese's featured Munch's Make Believe Band, an animatronic show that entertained families while they ate pizza. The chain was founded by Nolan Bushnell (Atari's creator) in 1977.

Question 11

D. Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit

Chef Boyardee's Pizza Kit included canned pizza sauce, a packet of dough mix, and grated cheese. It was one of the first ways many families made pizza at home in the 1960s and 1970s.

Question 12

D. Coal-fired or gas deck oven

Traditional New York pizzerias used coal-fired (the original method) or gas deck ovens that produced the signature thin, crispy-yet-foldable crust that defines New York-style pizza.

Question 13

A. Pizza roll

Jeno's Pizza Rolls, invented by Jeno Paulucci in the 1960s, were bite-sized rolls filled with pizza ingredients. They became a hugely popular frozen snack (later renamed Totino's Pizza Rolls).

Question 14

B. Pan Pizza

Pizza Hut introduced the Pan Pizza in 1980, featuring a thick, buttery crust cooked in a deep pan. The Stuffed Crust came later in 1995.

Question 15

D. 15 cents

A slice of pizza cost about 15 cents in 1960s New York City, roughly the same as a subway ride. This price relationship between pizza and subway fare became known as the 'Pizza Principle.'

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